Best Of British

Published
12:00 AM, June 18 2012

During the weekend of June 16 – 17, the Volvo Owners Club (UK) held their 2012 National Rally and BKV (Best Kept Volvo), at the same time also celebrating the club's 50th anniversay. The venue was the park of Thoresby Hall in the heart of Nottinghamshire, a stately home from the mid-1800s.

The meet attracted over 200 beautifully kept Volvos of which more than half entered the BKV competition. And competition actually happened to be the key word for many of the cars present. Where else can you see racing 340s looking hungry for action? One of the most interesting of the compeition vehicles was the 1970 144S of Richard Atherton which has competed twice in the gruelling London to Cape Town Rally, fiinishing 9th overall in the 2012 edition.

The genuine African dust that covered its lion-yellow paintwork gave this 144 from 1970 real character. The car has competed in the London to Cape Town Rally and finished an honourable 9th overall in this year's edition.

The Volvos on display ranged from Britain's oldest Volvo, a PV651 from 1931 to the latest S60, the latter courtesy of Marshall's of Nottngham, a Volvo dealer. The BKV competition span over 20 categories, ranging from PVs to almost brand new cars. The meet was a two-day activity which included a hog roast and live music entertainment on Saturday – including a magician doing card tricks – and culminated in the large show and the family activities on Sunday. There were many sellers of Volvo spares and other stuff , so the meet also attracted guests who came in their Volvo from other countries like Ireland, Beklgium, the Netherlands and France to take part in the action and maybe find some useful thing or two.

Set in the beuatiful park of Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire, the 2012 Volvo Owners Club (UK) National Rally and BKV attracted several hundred visitors who wanted to take part in the club's 50th annniversary celebrations.